Heavier-than-air airship



June 27, 1950 e. c. BROWN HEAVIER-THAN-AIR AIRCRAFT Filed Aug. 24, 1948C. Brawn R O T N E M ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 27, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I HEAVIEB-THAN-AIRAIRSHIP George Coleman Brown, Dallas, Tex. Application August 24, 1948,Serial No. 45,810

1 Claim.

This-invention relates'to a heavier-'than-air airship and to a method ofoperating the same, it being designed more especially as animprovementupon the structure disclosed in Patent Number 1,315,084issued to me on September 2, 1919, andin Patent Number 1,718,109, issuedto me on June 18, 1929. r

One of the objectsof the invention is to provide an airship of this typeutilizing a central gas container which is connected to the car of theairship, this container being of such size as to partly lift the 'carand its load, there bein aligned on each side a gas charged plane, meansbeing employed by which" the planes can be shifted relative to thesupported car so'as tocause the airship to ascend, descend, goforwardly, and to be turned in any desired direction.

A further object is to provide a novel arrangement of cables or otheroperating connections so located and proportioned as to shift'the planesproperly during the actuation of the airship.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claim, it being understood thatchanges may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeenshown. I

In said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the airship.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of. Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the. can,

Referring to the figures by characters, of reference, 5 designates anelongated gascontainer extending above the top of a car I. Alongsidethis gas container 5 areplaced the gas charged planes l0 and H, thecentral gas container and the two gas charged planes being in alignmentas shown and the planes'and central'gas container being inclinedupwardly andfrearwardly. Relatively short cables I3 are connected to thefront ends of the planes and longer cables I2 are connected to the endportions of the planes at the rear end thereof. These cables convergedownwardly into the car l where they'are attached at M to operate cranksI5,- l6,""l1', l8

means located in the car.

The container 5, which isconnected to the car, is located directlyoverthe car and is separate from the planes: This container has cablesadapted to be rotated by any suitable power 2 9 which are extendeddownwardly and inwardly and connected to the car I as shown. The car Iand the equipment carried thereby constitute a load somewhat heavierthan that which can be lifted by the gas contained in the container 5and the gas charged planes Ill and H, but the gas in the gas chargedplanes l0 and II will be sufficient to raise the planes I0 and II inelevated position above the car after being pulled downward against theair. r In practice it has been found that best results can be obtainedby usingplanes l0 and II approximately five or more times as long as theoverall width including, the gas container 5, and that the planes shouldbe inclined at from 5 to 15 degrees. It has also been found desirable tohave the end cables 12 and I3 extended at approximately forty-fivedegrees in the direction of the length of the airship and approximatelyfive degrees transversely of the airship. ,These angles are disclosedapproximately in Figs. 1

and 2.

Ithas also been found desirable to make the ends of the container 5 andthe gas charged ment of air during the actuation of the mechanism.Supporting wheels 2 can be connected to the bottom of the car I to aidit in leaving the ground and while making a landing. The ends of the carare preferably rounded as'at 3 and 4 to decrease air resistance.

"In practice, the gas container 5 which is arranged directly over andconnected to the car, is inflated to sustain a part, but not all, of theweight of the car and its load. By using this container the load whichcan be carried by the airship is greatly increased over what would bepossible should the gas container be eliminated. The airship heretoforedescribed is operated to ascend and to go forward through the air bypulling on and releasing the cables in proper I is effected withsufiicient rapidity tov produce an 3 up and down flapping action of theplanes which will be sumcient to elevate the entire airship, thislifting action due to the movement of the planes relative to the car Ibeing such as to displace sufficient air downwardly to more thancompensate for the difference between the weight of the airship and theair displaced thereby. By continuing the operation just described theairship is elevated to a desired altitude where it can be maintained bycontinuing the actuation of the planes at a lower speed. The airship canbe made to ascend perpendicularly by letting out the front cables untilthe planes are in a flat or horizontal position and operating the cablesas described, and the airship can be made to de scend perpendicularly ina similar manner. The turning of the airship can be effected byoperating the cables controlled by cranks l8 and 15 more rapidly thanthe cables controlled by cranks l1 and H or vice versa, thereby turningthe vehiole either to the right or to the left.

An integral part of this invention over that shown in my prior patentsis the employment of two elongated planes instead of one. By the use oftwo separate planes instead of one a heave I ier load can be carried andflying facilitated. Too, there is produced a smoother, more even flight.By the use of two separate planes there are three supporting contacts tothe car and its load, when a cable is let out after pulling a planeagainst the air, while in the use of one plane only there would be onlyone support contact, allowing the car and its load to drop more than itwould if two planes were used which would have three support contactsduring the actuating of the cables.

Too, another integral part is the elongated central gas container 5which is aslong as the gas charged planes l0 and II, to facilitateforward movement through the air. A short gas container such aspreviously shown would not operate with the complete efliciency desired,and would tend to retard forward movement, as the angles of the cablesattached thereto would not be sufficiently inward from its ends tomaintain the container at its proper position above the car. Theattaching cables'shouldbe inward at angles of forty-five degrees ormore. Additionally, it may be noted that a heavier load can be carriedby using this longer gas container, and faster forward movementattained. The further characteristic may be noted that the greater theforward movement, the greater the forward momentum, permitting thecarrying of a heavier load than the slower movement. a

It is to be understood of course that the drawing only illustrates thisinvention diagrammatically. Any type of car can be used and obviouslythe shape of the planes can be varied to produce desired results.

This airship is constructed on two basic principles believed to havenever before been employed or used. The arrangement of the planes at anincline pressing backward against the air at the same time they pressdownward is believed new, as is the arrangement of the cables extendedinwardly at acute angles to the planes causing the car to be pulledforward at the same time. it is pulled upward. The alternate operationof the cables to cause forward flight is new, I believe, and theemployment of gas to raise the planes after they are pulled against theair is also believed new and has never before been used to my knowledgefor this purpose. So different is this purpose that the difference wouldnot be greater even if an entirely new element 4 were employed. If theplanes had to be pushed back, reaction would equal action. With gasraising the planes there is no reaction. In other words, and assumingthat a fiat board-like plane were used, when the board-like plane wouldbe pulled downwardly against the air, the air would offer resistancepulling the car upward, but when the board-like plane would be pushedupward, reaction would equal action. Assume that this board-like planewould rise naturally, then there would be no reaction. Theoretically, toproduce such a board as last mentioned, it would be made hollow andcharged with gas.

The planes being elongated, and being placed at an incline, and thecables being extended inwardly from the ends of the planes, thealternate operation of the cables produces forward flight.

An understanding as to the flight of this airship can be obtained bydrawing an analogy with the flight of a bird. When a bird brings itswings downward at an incline against the air, the air ofiers resistancepropellingthe bird both upwardly and forwardly. Likewise, in the airshipillustrated, when the planes are pulled downward and backward againstthe air, the air offers resistance propelling the airship upwardly andforwardly, producing dynamic flight.

The reason for employing a central elongated gas container is to supporta part of the car and its load. Without it the airship would fly, but tocarry worthwhile loads it is necessary. Yet, it is to be understood thatthis is a heavier-thanair airship. For example, the analogy may-be drawnof a man swimming in water. Buoyancy supports all but approximatelyfifteen pounds of an average man, and the exertion necessary is theforce to support this difference. Likewise, this airship is heavier thanthe air displaced just as the man swimming is heavier than the waterdisplaced. Again, consider a fish swimming. The fish has an air bladdersupporting a part of its weight. Yet, the fish is heavier than the waterdisplaced. Therefore, the invention can be well termed a heavier-thanairairship.

What is claimed is:

A heavier-than-air airship comprising two elongated gas chargedplanesand one elongated gascontainer, the combined width of which isapproximately equal to or less than one-fifth the length thereof, a carbelow the planes, said planes and central gas container being inclineddownwardly and forwardly relative to the car at an angle ofapproximately from five to fifteen degrees, the central gas containerbeing separate from the planes and connected to and directly over thecar, said central container being of such size as to partly support theweight of the car and its load, said gas charged planes being alignedalong each side of the gas container, a single front cable comprisingthe sole connection ofthe front portion of each plane to a side of thefront portion of the car, a single rear cable longer than the frontcable and comprising the sole connection of the rear portion of eachplane to a side of the rear portion of the car, the front cables beingconnected to the downwardly inclined front ends of the planes, thecables being extended inwardly from the ends of the planes at acuteangles of approximately forty-five degrees thereto, means for pullingthefour cables in predetermined succession thereby to successively pullupon the front portion of one plane, the rear portion of to elevate thecar relative to the planes, and for subsequently paying out the fourcables in the same predetermined succession to allow the correspondingportions of the planes to rise under the action of the gas in theplanes, the front and rear portions of the gas container being fixeddistances away from the car at all times, said relative movement of thegas charged planes operating to propel the airship in a desireddirection.

GEORGE COLEMAN BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 43,449 Andrews July 5, 18641,208,684 Springer Dec. 12, 1916 5 1,315,084 Brown Sept. 2, 19191,718,109 Brown June 18, 1929 1,862,789 Graf June 14, 1932 FOREIGNPATENTS 10 Number Country Date 403,412 France Sept. 23, 1909 421,442France Dec. 22, 1910 501,978

France Feb. 9, 1920

